An Other Chance
by cyndll
Summary: When Rory stops in Philadelphia during the campaign she meets up with Jess. Then something unexpected happens.
1. first day in Philly

_AN: This is my first Gilmore Girls fanfic. You'll have to excuse me if I'm not completely true to the characters. Anyway I figure I should put my disclaimer in here now so here it is: I don't own anything except for in my head and my dreams, then I wish I owned Milo Ventimiglia._

_So here goes nothing. Just let me know if it completely sucks and I'll do my best to try to fix it._

**Chapter 1**

Rory woke up early to her phone ringing. She had been away from home following Obama for about two months. She checked the caller ID before answering only to see that it was her mother calling.

"Hey, mom. It's only 8 a.m. where I am. I don't function well at this time in the morning."

"Dearest child of mine, I have exciting news. I can't believe you abandoned me after so long to go chasing after some married politician, but I guess I understand."

"What is so exciting that you have to guilt trip me about taking this job?"

"Are you fully awake now?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, you didn't get up to get coffee or anything did you because if you did you're probably going to end up dropping the cup and spilling it everywhere."

"Relax. I still haven't gotten out of this nice, soft, comfy bed in this wonderful hotel I'm staying at in Philadelphia."

"Okay, are you ready for the news?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Last night after my Friday night dinner that I had to endure alone, Luke asked me to marry him."

"What'd you say? But didn't you guys just get back together?"

"Yes, Rory, we did just get back together. You really want to know my answer?"

"Hello, do I sound like some random stranger who doesn't care about your life?"

"I said yes. Now guess who I want to be my maid of honor?"

"Let me have a few guesses. Me."

"Yes."

"Wow. I can't believe it. Of course I'll be your maid of honor."

"Okay, sweetheart, I'll let you go back to sleep now."

"Bye, mom."

Rory flipped her phone shut and put it back on the nightstand. She tried to go back to sleep, but with the exciting news about her mom and Luke, she just couldn't. They really deserved this. She couldn't think of two people who are more perfect for each other.

She decided to go ahead and get out of bed. She looked over at Sarah, now one of her best friends. Where ever they had to go, Sarah wasn't far from Rory. With today being a Saturday and not having to do any work, they had decided that they'd go explore the city.

Rory got up and grabbed some clothes from her bag. She went to the bathroom and closed the door. She took a quick shower and decided she needed coffee now. She left the bathroom only to find Sarah ready to go.

"Hey, Rory. I was wondering if you were ever going to come out of there."

"Well, here I am. Let's go find food and coffee first. Then after breakfast we can go look around. I actually have an old friend who lives here and works at a publishing company. I'd like to go see him today."

"Okay, well, so long as we actually do more than eat and catch up with your old friend then I'm fine. Maybe your friend can show us around if he's not too busy."

"Maybe. I don't really know if he's even going to want to see me now. Last time we met up I kind of broke his heart I think."

"Aw. Rory, what am I going to do with you? So, how did you meet this guy?"

"His mom sent him to live with his uncle who runs this diner that my mom and I go to practically every day. Anyway, we were friends for a while and then my boyfriend at the time broke up with me and Jess was there to pick up the pieces."

"Sounds like he's a good friend then. So after your boyfriend broke up with you I guess you and Jess started going out."

"Yup. That's pretty much what happened. We ended up breaking up because he decided to go live with his father, who abandoned him, and we didn't think we could do long distance. Toward the end though, things weren't going so great. I've only seen him a few times since then, but we're on speaking terms I think, or at least we were last time."

"Hey, it sounds like this guy really liked you."

"That's an understatement. The time before last time I saw him, he was getting his car from his uncle, who had stolen the car, but it broke down before he could even make it out of Stars Hollow. That time he practically avoided me up until right before he left. That was when he just tried to make me stop running from him and stand in front of him or sit down long enough for him to tell me that he was in love with me."

"Wow, he had it bad."

"I think he might still feel that way about me."

"Why?"

"Last time we met up, he sort of kissed me."

"Okay, no more on the subject of this guy named Jess that I haven't even met yet. I can tell you're starting to get a little uncomfortable. So, I heard you on the phone this morning."

"Yeah, my mom called me and told me that she's engaged now."

"Wow. Who's the guy?"

"His name's Luke, he's Jess' uncle."

"Oh, the diner guy."

"Yup. Nobody could make coffee like Luke."

They had left their room a while ago and were now walking into a café. They sat down and ordered their breakfast. They didn't talk about anything while they ate.

After they were done and had paid their bill they started talking again.

"So, where should we go first?" Sarah asked.

"How about we go see my friend, Jess first. He might be able to give us a few suggestions as to what we can do the rest of the day. I almost wish it wasn't Saturday."

They hailed a taxi and Rory told the driver to take them to Truncheon Books. Fifteen minutes later they pulled up outside the building and got out of the taxi. Rory paid the driver and they walked in.

Rory spotted Jess immediately. He wasn't really paying attention to who had just walked into the room. He was busy talking to one of his coworkers. As soon as he was done talking to the person he looked in the direction of the door. He seemed like he was frozen in place for a few moments and then walked over to them.

"Rory, what are you doing here?"

"I'm following Obama. With it being Saturday we weren't doing anything and decided to come explore the city."

"It's really good to see you. Are you going to introduce me and your friend here or do we have to guess each other's names?"

"I was getting to that. Jess this is Sarah, Sarah this is Jess."

Sarah stepped forward and shook Jess' hand saying, "nice to meet you."

"You too."

"So, Jess, do you have anything to do for the next few hours?"

"I actually took a half day off. Your mom told Luke that you would be in Philly, Luke then told me and gave me the name of your hotel. I was actually going to go see you."

"This plan worked out pretty well now didn't it? We were actually going to ask you to join us for the day if you weren't busy."

"I'd be happy to spend the day with an old friend and get to know somebody new."

"Thanks, Jess."

"No problem. Hey, Matt, Chris, I'm gonna go now. If that's okay with you."

` "Sure, go have fun. Take the whole day if you want, we don't have enough to do here to keep us busy," one of the other guys in the room yelled at Jess.

"I guess that means you have me all to yourself for the day."

"I guess so. Come on."

They walked around the city for a few hours just talking and occasionally they would walk into a bookshop or something. Finally at around 12:30 they walked into a restaurant for lunch. So far, Sarah and Rory absolutely loved the city. Jess was a great tour guide in spite of him not really being a people person. After lunch Jess had to get back to work because he didn't trust his coworkers to actually do any work with him not there. They made it back to Truncheon. Sarah went ahead and walked outside to get the two girls a taxi and left Jess and Rory to talk to each other. They waited till Sarah was outside before they said anything.

"So, thanks for today, Jess."

"No problem. Rory, what was your actual intention of coming to see me today?"

"Jess, I told you exactly what it was when I walked in here this morning. Why are you interested in that anyway?"

"It's just that last time you came to see me, you didn't exactly not have an agenda. I was just wondering. What are you doing tomorrow? I was thinking if you wanted to we could go for lunch somewhere and catch up."

"Tomorrow's Sunday so I don't have work to do. Sure. That sounds great. I've really missed you."

"I think you've said that a million times today. But, it's good to see you too. So, do you have a number I can call you at?"

"Oh, yeah, hang on a second." Rory took a pen and a peace of paper out of her purse and wrote her cell number on it. She then handed it to Jess, "here you go. I guess I should go out there and go back to the hotel before Sarah runs in here and drags me out."

"I guess so. I had fun today."

"So did I."

They stood there not really saying anything for a few minutes. Finally Jess pulled Rory into a hug and said, "I really missed you. Next time don't wait so long before visiting."

"I'll try, but it might be a while."

Rory didn't want to leave Jess, she didn't even want the hug to end, but alas all good things must come to an end. Before she couldn't keep herself from doing so she pulled away from him and meant to kiss his cheek, but at the last possible second he turned his head and she caught his lips instead. It was better than any kiss she'd ever had. Before the kiss evolved into anything more she pulled back and walked away.

When she got outside Sarah decided to question her, because she had seen what had happened.

"I thought you told me that you guys were just friends. If that's true then, what was that that I just saw?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, yeah. You just kissed a guy that you claim that you don't have feelings for. How is that nothing?"

"I don't know what just happened. I meant to get his cheek but he turned his head and I got his lips. Would I be lying if I said I didn't like that kiss?"

"Rory, honey, would you even be here if it hadn't been for him? I mean, he pulled you out of that ridiculous hiatus. That was only because at the time, he knew the old you the best. Could you imagine what your life would be like if he hadn't called you out on how much you'd changed that night?"

"I would probably still be living with my grandparents and I probably wouldn't have ever gone back to Yale, or become a journalist so I wouldn't have met you. I wouldn't be able to stand that."

"See, you admit that you wouldn't be here without him, but when you were talking about what I just saw, you started blushing so hard."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes you were. I bet he's the only one that could get that shade of red out of you too."

"Okay, fine. Yes, I was blushing. By the way, Jess is taking me to lunch tomorrow, so you can hang out with some of the others if you want. We were just going to catch up, you know, tell each other what's been happening in the past few years."

"OK. Thanks for the warning. I'll think of something. You just have fun with this guy. You seemed really happy today. Happier than I've seen you in a long time."

"I was. I wonder what I should wear tomorrow. I mean after the kiss, he's probably going to think it's a date, but it's not. So what do you think?"

"Maybe just wear a good pair of jeans and a nice looking top, not a skirt and blouse, unless it's not that dressy."

"What would I do without you, Sarah?"

"I don't know."

Before they knew it, they were back at the hotel. They decided to just order room service for dinner and watch whatever was on T.V. That plan worked out great. The next thing Rory knew, she was answering her phone.

"Hey, mom."

"Hey, kiddo. So, what's going on with you?'

"Well, today, I met back up with Jess. This time it wasn't an accident. You knew I was in Philly this week so you told Luke who then told Jess and gave Jess the name of my hotel."

"How'd you know?"

"He told me. But, um, this time it wasn't him coming to me, it was me coming to him. You see, Sarah and I needed a guide to show us around the city and I hailed a taxi and we went over to Truncheon. Thank god Jess was there today or we probably wouldn't have been able to learn our way around seeing how I've only been here once and that was at the open house for Truncheon and Sarah's never been here in her whole life."

"Wow. So, did he say anything about last time you saw each other?"

"Surprisingly, no. However, I think he might bring it up tomorrow. He and I are having lunch just to catch up and to talk. You know, normal friend stuff. Except it won't be just friend stuff because today I kind of kissed him."

"You what?!"

"Relax, mom. It was an accidental kiss. I was just going to kiss his cheek when at the last second he turned his head and I got his mouth instead. Would it be a bad thing if I said I liked it?'

"Oh, sweetie. I don't know what to tell you except you guys had better sort this thing out before my wedding because he's the best man."

"Really, it had to be him? Oh well, at least I won't have to dance with Kirk or TJ."

"True. That's the bright side of this."

"Hey, mom. It's getting kinda late so I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you tomorrow and let you know how my lunch with Jess went.

"OK. Talk to you tomorrow."

Rory then hung up her phone and laid it on the night stand and went to sleep.

_AN: Like I said, this is the first fanfic that I've written for Gilmore Girls. I would appreciate your reviews, please no flames. Remember the more reviews I get, the longer the story is, also the more good reviews I get, the better the story might end up being. Constructive criticism people, you gotta love it._


	2. Lunch with Jess

_Hey, guys. Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I've had a lot on my plate. So, I've decided that today you will get more than one update, how many, I have absolutely no clue. It kind of depends on how fast I can type and if I have an internet connection all day. Please enjoy._

The next day Rory heard a knock on her hotel room door. She hadn't gotten a call from Jess yet, so it couldn't be him. Her curiosity got the best of her in the end and she opened the door. To her surprise, it actually was Jess.

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him like she'd never hugged him before. She did all this while exclaiming, "Jess!!! I didn't think you'd show up this early, and especially without a phone call. Let me get dressed and we can leave."

"Okay. Do whatever you need to. I'll still be here when you're done. I promise."

With that she grabbed some clothes out of her suitcase and went into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. After she fixed her hair and put on some makeup she walked out of the tiny bathroom and found Jess sitting on the bed watching TV.

When he heard her come out of the bathroom he looked up. "Wow. You look absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks, but it's only jeans and a blouse."

"I don't care, you still look good," he said, making Rory blush.

When Jess said this there was a momentary pause as what he said sunk in.

"So, shall we go?" Rory asked him.

"Yes, let's get going. Although I have the entire afternoon off so we could just hang out and not _just _do lunch."

"Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

They walked out the hotel room and into an elevator. They didn't say a word to each other the entire way down to the lobby. Finally they were in the lobby and didn't feel like they were locked in a private room with a million opportunities for intimate moments to happen.

Jess led the way to a little diner that he had discovered his first week in Phily. It reminded Rory of Luke's back home. This made her miss her mom even more than she had the morning before after she hung up.

Jess was the first one to speak, Rory was glad for this because she didn't really know how to start this conversation.

"So, how are things going for you and the blond guy, Logan I think was his name?"

"Yeah, that was his name. Things between he and I are…… nonexistent right now."

"What happened to make that relationship stop?"

"He asked me to marry him."

"I thought you were happy with him."

"At the time, I was. But, when he asked me to marry him, it took me almost a week to come up with my answer. It should have been that when he asked me I should have said yes automatically to him if I really truly did love him. I took so long to answer him that at my graduation he actually gave me an ultimatum. He said it was all or nothing at the time. I wasn't ready to get married just yet. I had just been offered this job and Logan was going to be in California as far as I can remember."

"What do you mean, as far as you can remember?"

"When he gave me that ultimatum, I knew my answer was no. As soon as I said no to him, I made so much effort to forget him, that includes his plans after my graduation."

"OK. I won't ask you anything else pertaining to him if you don't want to talk about it."

"Thanks, I would really appreciate that."

They sat in silence for a while. Neither knowing what to say.

Finally Rory spoke, "So, have you talked to Luke recently?"

"No, I haven't really had a reason to call and obviously he doesn't either or he's just too busy, which I can't imagine that he would ever be too busy to pick up the phone and call his one and only nefew."

"You might want to call him pretty soon if you don't hear from him in the next twenty-four hours because he's got some pretty big news."

"You know something don't you?"

"I talked to my mom yesterday and she was practically jumping up and down from all the excitement."

"I can't possibly think of anything that would have your mom going nutso but have something to do with Luke at the same time."

"Okay, I can't keep this secret from you because well, you're going to eventually be my step cousin."

Rory let that statement sink in for a few seconds before saying, "Jess, are you okay?"

"I just never thought that Luke would ever actually take me seriously."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I lived with him back when I was seventeen, I would always tease him about having a crush on Lorelai."

"Wow, I never thought that you would take your uncle's feelings into consideration when you would be so sarcastic."

"Maybe I was actually being serious but didn't want anybody to know."

"Okay, now I'm lost in our own conversation. For an author you sure can't keep a straight train of thought."

"I do better when I have pen and paper or my laptop."

"Does it bother you any that you've been in love with your future cousin for like seven years now?" Rory blurted out. She instantly regretted even opening her mouth to speak at all. She knew this was a sensitive subject. She didn't even like bringing it up with her mom.

"Rory, like I said last time we saw each other, it's what it is. It's in the past and you can't change the past."

"I guess you're right." She was surprised that he had seemed to accept this so easily. "If you could, would you ever go back and change anything?"

"I would like to think I would, but in hindsight, everything that I did in the past led me to where I am now. I would like to think that the one thing that I would ever change is the fact that I ever went to California to track my father down. If I hadn't done that, maybe we would have had a chance."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Do you ever think that if you had stayed that we would have made it? I mean, sure things were going good, but you were flunking out of high school and I was going to Yale. I always end up thinking that even if you hadn't left, then I would have ended up with somebody at Yale. That we would have broken up because I was embarrassed to have a high school drop out for a boyfriend. I always cared too much what other people thought."

"Maybe you're right. I never really thought about it like that. I mean, look at where we both are now. You're actually a journalist, granted you're not an overseas corespondant, but you're following the next possible president of the united states around the country until he either wins, loses, or you get tired and go back to Stars Hollow. And I'm a published author working in the publishing house that publishes my own books. I guess we would have ended eventually. I just never wanted to think of that possibility."

"I have absolutely no regrets. I wouldn't even change the fact that I started dating Logan and didn't break up with Dean sooner."

Jess decided to change the subject, "So, your mom and Luke? What's going on there?"

"Oh, well the other night apparently Luke proposed to my mom. Guess what she said."

"I'm going to go with yes."

"Exactly. Then she called me at like eight a.m. yesterday and asked m e to be her maid of honor, so of course I'll have to find a date."

"So, have they set a wedding date yet?"

"I didn't think to ask. I'm sure that she'll call sometime today and let me know and I will pass that on to you."

Just as she said this both their phones started to ring.


	3. Rory's call

Rory answered the phone at the exact same time that Jess answered his. On the other end of Rory's call was her mother talking so fast that Rory couldn't understand her. Rory got up and walked outside.

"Mom, slow down, I know we were born to talk fast but I can't understand a word you're saying."

"Oh, sorry honey. I just got a call from Sarah, the girl that's rooming with you now. Well, she just told me that you went off with one of your ex- boyfriends. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just having some lunch," Rory reassured her mother.

"Can I ask who it is and you won't be mad?"

"I'm with Jess. As you know, I'm in Philly for a week and I ran into him yesterday. We got to talking and he showed me and Sarah around and then he and I made plans for lunch today. It's really good catching up with him."

"Promise me that you won't do anything that's going to end with you getting hurt."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I'll call you back later and let you know how everything went. By the way, you never said if you guys had set a date for the wedding yet or not."

"Oh, it's September 12th."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to let Jess know, seeing how he is Luke's nephew it would only be the right thing to do so he at least has a choice to go."

"I think Luke's asking him to be the best man."

"Okay, in that case, I hope that today doesn't result in me and Jess having an awkward time at your wedding."

"I'll talk to you later. Just go back and eat your food. I don't want you to starve while your gone."

"Don't worry. Bye mom."

Rory hung up her phone and went back inside to sit down with Jess who was just hanging up his phone and looking pleased with himself.

**AN: I'm sorry for the short chapter but the next one will be Jess' conversation.**


	4. Jess' call

As soon as Rory had gotten up and walked outside Jess started to talk.

"Hello?"

"Jess, I've got something to ask you."

"Hello to you too, Uncle Luke."

"First in case you haven't heard from Rory yet which if she's in Philly and you've ran into her yet then you probably have, anyway, Lorelai and I are getting married."

"Congradulations. Just for the record, yes I'm having lunch with Rory so she inevitably told me."

"Oh, well then, I guess I should just come out and say this, will you be my best man?"

"Yeah, of course. You were like a father to me so I'd do anything to pay you back for everything you've done."

"Okay. Thanks. Whatever you plan on doing with Rory, don't do anything to hurt her."

"I won't. Don't worry. It's just lunch today. We're catching up on what's happened in each other's lives so far since the last time we saw each other."

"Alright. I'll let you go so you can get back to Rory, I'm sorry I interrupted."

"Oh, you weren't interrupting anything. Rory got a call and went outside to take it. Probably Lorelai just checking up on Rory."

"I guess I'll see you."

"Oh, have you guys set a date yet?"

"September 12th."

"OK. See you then."

Jess hung up the phone and saw Rory just sitting down after getting back inside.

**AN**: **Once again, sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to have the phone conversations as separate chapters. It's always kind of confusing for me to have to flip flop between the two different conversations if I'm reading something like that. Anyway, I'll try to have another chapter up today, but I can't make any promises. My fingers are sore from typing so much and I have a head ach so I'm going to give it a rest for now. You might see some more by the end of the day, but idk.**


	5. Chapter 5

"You knew all along that Luke would want me to be his best man, didn't you?"

"Yes," Rory says with a smirk.

"Why did he choose me? I'm the good for nothing nephew that left without saying good bye," Jess said lightly.

"You shouldn't think of yourself like that, you are so much more than good for nothing."

After Rory says this they fall into a silence that both feel like breaking but can't think if they really want to or not.

Finally Rory says, "Honestly, you want to know why?"

"Of course."

"Okay I'll tell you. For one thing he really doesn't have any friends and it was a choice between you, T.J., and Kirk."

"Really now, he'd rather have me stand up there with him than Kirk," Jess says sarcastically.

"Yup, and I'm glad he chose you because I really couldn't stand spending the evening stuck with T.J. and quite honestly Kirk freaks me out a little. Then again, I don't think Kirk would be Kirk if he didn't freak you out even just a little bit."

"I think you're right about that."

"And no offense, but your step-father is…….. I have no words to describe T.J."

"I think the way Luke put it when they first met was he's a grown man with an etchasketch."

"Fitting."

"Yeah. So, anything exciting happening in your life? I mean besides this job that you're here in Philly for."

"No, I haven't exactly had that much opportunity to have anything exciting happen since graduation. What about you, anything going on in your life?"

"Working on another book. I'll be sure to send you a copy when it's published."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"I want to. You'd probably like it. I don't know. Might remind you of high school. It's a love story."

"You're writing a love story, I'm surprised. So, what's it about?"

"A troubled teen who falls for the town princess. Only not so much drama as what we went through."

"I think it's sweet. Our history would make a very good book. I'm glad that you're working on something. I can't believe that we're both here like this. I mean, we're both really successful, and we're doing what we both want to do. Plus, mom and Luke finally decided to listen to everybody."

"I'm surprised that so much has gone right for me. I mean, when Liz sent me to Luke, I was in so much trouble. Then, I met you and things started to go right, but then I had to go and mess things up by leaving. I ran into my dad in California. He had a girlfriend and she had a daughter named Lilly. The first time I saw her, she was reading in a cupboard. Then I left California and started traveling around the country. Then I got a call from Liz saying that Luke stole my car. So I went back to Stars Hollow, not intending to do anything except get my car back. I ran into you so many times before I was able to leave. I'm sorry I just left after saying that I love you."

"It hurt me when you left like that."

"I know, I can't do enough to let you know that it killed me to just walk to my car and drive away, but you weren't saying anything and I seriously felt like an idiot for even opening my mouth."

"Okay, let's get off the topic of the I love you and walk away debacle. So, what happened after that?"

"Well, I decided to stop travelling and lived in New York. Then Luke came and somehow managed to convince me to go back to that hell hole of a town and walk my mother down the aisle. Then I went to your dorm at Yale right after the wedding and practically begged you to leave with me." He hesitated before finishing what he was going to say. "In a way I'm glad that you said no because look where I ended up. If you had said yes, then we wouldn't be here like this. At the time that I started to write the subsect, I was honestly thinking that maybe if it was good enough, then maybe I could win you back. Then I decided just to write and let everything fall into place. I mean, everything happens for a reason, right? You saying that you didn't want to be with me was probably one of the best things that could have happened."

Neither one of them could believe that he was being so honest. Even when they had dated he would never open up like this, not even to her.

"I guess you're right. I felt so upset when I said no to you and you had left. I just panicked. I'd never been in a situation like that and I was scared and you had hurt me so much," Rory said slowly and quietly, trying to hold back tears.

"What do you say we get out of here. I mean, look at you, you're about to start crying. And I don't think that the middle of a diner is the place to have this kind of conversation."

"Yeah. Let's go."

They got up and paid for their food. Even though Rory would have paid for her own Jess wouldn't let her. So after he had paid the bill they walked outside.

"So, where do you wanna go? My apartment or your hotel room?"

"How about my hotel room. I mean you live above Truncheon and wouldn't your roommates get kind of curious if they saw you with and ex girlfriend upstairs by ourselves?"

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Then let's go."

They went back to Rory's hotel room only to find Sarah there.

"So, where do you want to go now?"

"I have absolutely no clue. Maybe we should ask her to leave."

"Are you sure, I mean, she seems like the type to start rumors, her and Ms. Patty would get along perfectly."

"Relax. I'll talk to her."

"Okay."

Rory walked into her room and said, "Can you leave? I mean, Jess and I need somewhere to talk things out privately and you're here so can you please leave?"

"Why can't you go to his apartment?"

"He has like two or three roommates that live there. Getting rid of one is easier than getting rid of two or three."

"Okay, I kind of need to go and make a phone call to my boyfriend back at home and I can't get reception in this room."

"Thanks, Sarah."

"Oh, no problem."

Sarah walked out of the room and Jess walked in.

"So, where do we start?" Rory asked.

"You were saying how upset you were after I asked you to come with me after my mom's wedding."

"Oh, yeah. As soon as you walked out that door I felt my heart breaking. It was like the day that mom told me you were gone all over again."

This time she couldn't hold back the tears, she just let them fall not caring that the reason for them had happened so long ago. Jess walked over to her and put his arms around her. He started rubbing his hand up and down her back trying to comfort her.

They stayed like that for a while. Finally Rory's phone rang and she had to answer it.

It was her mom on the phone wanting to know every detail of her day.

"Hey, mom. What's up?"

"I was just wondering what your day was like. Jess didn't do anything to make you cry did he? I can tell that you've been crying, I can hear it in your voice."

"Relax, we just got into a sensitive subject. I'll tell you later what it was. He's still with me, he took an entire day off work just to be with me and sort some things out."

"Okay. Well, call me when he leaves, okay?"

"I will."

Rory hung up the phone and went to sit on her bed. Jess followed her lead sitting next to her on the bed.

"So, about what happened yesterday before you left," Jess said.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did."

"I'd be lying if I didn't say that I liked it. What about you?" Jess said this quietly.

Rory doesn't say anything for a while before saying, "Yes, I did like it. But it didn't mean anything. I mean, I don't have those kinds of feeling for you anymore."

"I called you the day you graduated from Chilton, I didn't say anything, but you knew it was me. Do you remember what you said that day over the silent phone call?"

"No, I don't. I probably should remember but I don't," she answered truethfully.

"You said that you may have loved me, but you just needed to let it go."

"I did?"

Just by looking into his eyes she knew that that had been the extent of what she had said, she also knew that he wouldn't lie to her about what she had said. He just slowly nodded his head yes.

They sat in silence for a while just trying to soak in what had been said today.

Finally, Rory unable to stand the silence anymore asked, "Read to me?"

"What do you want me to read?"

Without noticing what book it was she grabbed something out of her book bag and handed it to him.

"My book? Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Even with knowing why I even started writing it?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's a good book, why stop reading it because the author started writing it to try to win my heart? Which he didn't have to do, because he already had it."

She didn't realize what she had said until she saw the look on his face. The expression was full of love and passion. She felt like she wanted to kiss him to no end right then and there.

No faster had she thought this then he had leaned over and crushed his lips to her. She was surprised, but didn't pull away like she normally would have, instead she deepened the kiss by pulling him closer. They continued until the need to breath became evident.


End file.
